Grayson Allen is back, and college basketball is better for it. The sport needs famous players — and what’s more, lightning rods — like the controversial Duke guard.

Too much of the focus every year is on the one-and-done freshmen, ultra-talented players who spend a few months on college campuses before moving on the NBA. By the time we get to know them, they’re gone. It’s not a knock on those prospects, it’s the system in place. But it hurts rivalries and the sport itself when the most recognizable faces are the overpaid coaches.

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That’s why Allen being back helps the game. Love him or hate him, you have an opinion about him. You’ll watch him. You’ll criticize him. You’ll pay attention.

We’ve been through so much with Allen already, from his surprising star turn off the bench as a freshman in the 2015 national championship game to his on-court prowess to the dizzying array of extracurricular issues the past two seasons: the tripping incidents and the suspension. Now he’s back for one more go-around, hoping to improve his NBA stock, reach another Final Four, possibly go out on top.

And depending on how Duke finishes off this recruiting cycle — Coach K is in the mix for five-star recruits Kevin Knox, Trevon Duval and Mohamed Bamba — the Blue Devils could be absolutely loaded, possibly better than it was a year ago, with the return of Allen, freshman guard Frank Jackson and big man Marques Bolden, plus the addition of elite recruits Gary Trent Jr. and Wendell Carter.

Most of all, they’ll be interesting, a must-watch. We can thank Grayson Allen for that.